Chapter 15 - The Ultimatum
The lounge was dead silent save for the wail of distant sirens approaching the block.
Mateo dropped his rifle to a low ready, scanning the room to ensure no other gunmen were standing. When he saw Genevieve step out from behind the partition—unharmed, her crimson dress stained with a smear of dust, but her eyes burning with adrenaline—his tactical composure cracked for a single, terrifying second.
He crossed the room in three long strides, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her violently against his chest.
“What were you thinking?” Mateo snarled, his voice trembling with a raw, unfiltered panic he had never shown anyone before. “You could have been killed!”
“I was the bait, remember?” Genevieve whispered against his lapel, resting her hands over his racing heart. “And the bait just took out his knee.”
Enzo rushed into the club behind a squad of tactical enforcers, securing the perimeter and cuffing Dante Rossi’s unconscious men.
Mateo pulled back just enough to look into her face, his pale blue eyes fierce and blindingly bright. He cupped her jaw with one hand, his thumb brushing a smudge of soot from her cheek.
“This life is violent, Genevieve,” Mateo said quietly, his voice heavy with a solemn vow. “It doesn't wash off easily. Once you're in the center of my storm, there is no exit.”
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“Who said I wanted an exit?” Genevieve challenged, rising slightly on her tiptoes.
Mateo didn't hesitate anymore. Right there, amid the shattered glass, the wailing sirens, and the smoke of a defeated syndicate, he kissed her—deeply, passionately, and with an absolute finality that claimed her heart and soul forever.
